It is often desirable to restrict access to dangerous, hazardous, or restricted areas by sectioning such areas off. Ropes, chains, fencing, and other similar barriers are typically placed around the perimeter of the area to restrict entrance. It is further desirable to attach signs to the rope or support which carry information regarding the nature of the hazard or identify the particular danger or restriction with greater specificity.
It is important for the signs to hang from the rope or support in such a manner that they can easily be seen and read when approaching the area. In addition, when attached to the barrier, the sign must be capable of withstanding wind and other forces which may inadvertently dislodge the sign from the barrier.
A sign which may be attached to and removed from the rope without disturbing the ends of the rope is disclosed in Brewster, U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,066. Brewster describes a sign having two openings for receiving a rope. The Brewster device has wings which may be temporarily deflected to allow the passage of the rope into the openings and released to capture the rope within the openings. When so captured, the rope is threaded around three fixed supports--a stationary center support located between the openings and two stationary side supports located near the periphery of the sign, one outside of each opening. The supports are fixed in the sense that they remain coplanar with the sign and do not deflect for inserting or removing a rope, as do the wings. More particularly stated, the rope in the Brewster device follows a path in which the rope engages a first side support, passes through a first opening and engages the center support, and then passes through the second opening to engage a second side support. The three stationary supports therefore engage and secure the sign to the rope.
Brewster further specifies two narrow slits leading to the openings which drop vertically from the top edge near the sides of the sign and then run horizontally to meet the ends of the openings. The device thereby creates wings which deflect near the sides of the sign to allow insertion of the rope into the openings. The Brewster device, however, is cumbersome to install on a rope. Typically, the rope is inserted in one slot, the installer's hands are repositioned, and then the rope is inserted in the other slot. Installation of the sign on a rope therefore requires the sign to be manipulated in a number of different ways and the installer must possess a certain degree of manual dexterity.
The Brewster device also presents four areas having increased potential for failure. The machined openings and slits of the Brewster device create four areas on the sign which have a relatively narrow cross-section. These areas are located at the two side supports and the two wings. These areas are easily flexed and may break under large forces.